Good day, everyone. Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I love to travel. I usually choose to explore sights and go on trips on my own. I don’t like relying on travel agencies, waiting for crowds of other tourists, or following a strict schedule. That’s why we decided to go to the water park on our own.
For those who don’t know, the Aquaventure water park is located on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah, on the grounds of the Atlantis hotel. There are several ways to get there.
The easiest is to take a taxi. But in this case, the price for the trip can be quite high. We noticed that taxi drivers deliberately drive extra circles to increase the number on the meter. But if comfort is more important to you than money, then feel free to choose this option.
Another option is public transport. That’s what we chose. First, we got to the Nakheel metro station. The metro in Dubai is very simple. There are many maps, stations are announced twice in Arabic and English, and the announcements are duplicated on screens. So it’s impossible to get lost there. After that, we followed the map up to the tram station (literally a 5-minute walk). There you will find the famous monorail to the top of the Palm. You can see it from afar. There are also many signs. It’s like a subway transfer. You can take the lift or the stairs. After that, you will find yourself in a car park. Follow the same bright signs to the monorail.
If you choose this method of travel, buy a return ticket right away. It will be 5 dirhams cheaper. After passing through the turnstile and taking the escalator, you will find yourself on the platform. Many people advise taking seats in the first car to enjoy the magnificent view. But I wasn’t particularly impressed. We just passed by houses (it’s not very pleasant to look at laundry hanging on balconies). And the train itself moves terribly slowly. Also, keep in mind that this is not exactly an express train. There is one stop along the way!
Perhaps those who are expecting something magical and exciting will enjoy the Monorail ride more. We were travelling in a crowd of Chinese people and couldn’t wait to get off.
The station is right next to the hotel entrance, so you can’t miss it. Go inside and head to the ticket office. Here, there are more hidden pitfalls.
If you buy a ticket on the spot, it will cost more than through the website or from the guides. For example, during our trip, the price on the website and from the guides was 290 dirhams (about £70), and at the water park ticket office it was 345 dirhams (about £75). And that’s just for the water park! Other entertainment is paid separately (for example, visiting the underwater world museum, feeding stingrays, the VIP area, and more). We bought tickets in advance from a guide with an open date and went to the ticket office with them. I would like to point out that there were almost no queues at the ticket office. A water park employee directed visitors to separate queues for those who had booked tickets and those who were buying them on the spot. So don’t be afraid to ask the staff if you have any questions, otherwise you risk overpaying for admission.
By the way, there are no notorious and ubiquitous Chinese people at the water park at all. With their cult of white skin, Aquaventure is perhaps one of the few places where you can take a break from them. They all stay in the hotel itself. Why in the hotel? Because it has one of the largest indoor aquariums. It stretches around the perimeter of the entire hotel, and as you walk from the entrance to the ticket office, you can admire the fish. Or, for a fee, you can even go diving among this marine fauna.
In addition, the huge lobby of Atlantis is a small gallery with shops.
But we only glanced at it, because our goal was the water park itself.
We did not rent lockers, towels or reusable bottles for drinks. We did not encounter any theft in Dubai, so we left our things on the sun loungers without worrying. And we had no intention of running around looking for a place to refill our bottles.
I would like to mention that bringing water and food into the water park is strictly prohibited! Bags are carefully checked at the entrance. If you are caught, you will simply be asked to leave the premises without a refund for your ticket. Is it worth the risk? Everyone decides for themselves, but in my opinion, it’s a dubious saving.
The changing rooms, by the way, are very comfortable. Each cubicle is equipped with a shelf and a seat. Everything is designed for maximum guest comfort. We found free sun loungers without any problems. This is a huge plus. I remember what a problem this was in other water parks. Here, even when there are huge crowds, there are always free spots.
There are many other perks. The staff will thank you if you return the perks to their place after swimming. But if you leave them in the water or on the shore, they will be removed with a smile.
As for the slides and attractions themselves, there are two towers for adults. You can go there if you are at least 120 cm tall! The staff can actually measure a child’s height, and if they are shorter, they are not allowed on the adult slides. The first tower I visited is called ‘Neptune’s Tower’. Since it was morning, the queue was not that long, but we still had to wait.
The most popular was ‘Shark Attack’ – the idea is that you first slide down a dark winding tube on a rubber ring, and then fly into a transparent tunnel in an aquarium. Sharks and stingrays swim around you. I wouldn’t say it’s scary. It’s more exciting. You feel like a member of Jacques Cousteau’s team. The sharks are small and probably wouldn’t do any harm. But the aquarium itself is breathtaking.
After such an interesting ride, I wanted to tickle my nerves a little more, so I went to the slide that is considered the water park’s signature attraction – ‘The Leap Of Faith’. The queue wasn’t long – I waited about 5 minutes. It’s impossible to describe the emotions, but I’ll try.
I sat down at the bottom of the slide, pushed off the handrail, and, assuming the necessary position (lying down with my arms crossed over my chest), rolled down at breakneck speed. In a split second, I literally flew into the air. And I realised that the creators weren’t joking when they said that you feel like you’re flying. It seemed to me that I had flown off the slide and was about to fall and break something. Most likely, my low weight and height played a role here. People weighing 60 kg or more would feel more confident. I even closed my eyes for two seconds (even though I was flying through a transparent tube in an aquarium, but you can’t see much). And, by the way, I did the right thing, because the next moment I felt a lot of spray on my face, and then I finished my descent by landing in the pool. An employee on duty was waiting for me there. I have to give him credit — he carefully monitors the safe completion of the jump and is ready to jump in after you at any moment if you don’t surface from the bottom of the pool. And only when I climbed the steps out of the water did he signal for the next daredevil to start. Safety is the top priority here.
By the way, it is worth noting that the towers offer incredibly beautiful views.
Of course, this is not the famous BujKhalifa, but I still did not miss the opportunity to admire the Atlantis hotel, the monorail train and the skyscrapers of Dubai Marina.
Later, I wanted to float down the slow river on a tube and ride the fast rapids. Although this part of the river is called Falls, it’s just fast-flowing water. It carries you along happily, and there’s nothing to be afraid of here.
As for the second tower, the Poseidon Towers, I didn’t dare to go on the scary ride where you fall in free fall down a glass tube (just looking at it from the side was enough for me). Here I decided to ride the slides with big doughnuts. There are two of them. The first is called Aquaconda, where a doughnut with five volunteers is carried along a wide tube. It feels like the doughnut is about to tip over.
And Zoomerango (I don’t know the exact translation) is a slide where the doughnut first slides like an American roller coaster, and then at the most unexpected moment, it drops sharply and flies up like a boomerang. This is really fun, especially the first time. I went on it twice.
I liked how fast the queue moved. The staff try to seat groups of friends and families together. And the dividing railings guide you to the right attraction. This way, you don’t have to go from one slide to another.
Interestingly, there are special terraces where anyone with a phone can take great pictures.
For example, you can film your friends or family rushing down the slide. After you’ve had your fill of water and adrenaline, you can just walk around the park. The area around the water park is very beautiful. Everything is blooming and green. The paths are constantly being cleaned.
There are rubbish bins and toilets everywhere (which is very necessary, especially if you have children). The park is really large, so there are signs on all the paths and even maps in some places.
I was pleased that you can walk barefoot almost everywhere without fear of stepping on stones or rubbish left by someone else. The cleanliness is perfect.
There are quite a few fast food outlets and kiosks selling various tasty treats. Prices are above average, which is understandable. If you don’t bring food and drink with you to the water park, you’ll probably end up buying something. And if you have children, it’s even easier to tempt them.
As for the children’s areas, there are two (as for adults). I didn’t go there because I don’t have children. But from the outside, everything is almost the same as in other water parks. The engineers didn’t shine with originality here and made a standard set of slides. Hanging bridges similar to hammocks, various fountains and sprinklers have been added. And, of course, every few minutes, a huge bucket of water is poured over the children’s heads. Everything is bright and the children are quite happy. In addition, for the youngest children, there are floats with a bottom (if they want to ride down the river or in the pool with their parents) and inflatable vests. So even the little ones will not be left without attention.I would like to mention the water park’s beach separately. You may ask yourself a reasonable question: ‘Why does a water park need a beach? It has slides.’ I agree, there are slides. But there is not a single pool for adults and older children to swim in. The river where the doughnuts float is not really suitable for swimming as it is very shallow.
It is quite long, stretching along the entire length of the water park. The clean sand and almost transparent warm water of the Persian Gulf beckon you to take a dip. In addition, you can take photos against the backdrop of the famous Parus hotel. But the area itself is also very picturesque. Photos taken by the palm trees look like they’re from a Bounty chocolate advert.
There are sun loungers throughout the entire Aquaventure, and the beach is no exception. There are enough for everyone. We got to the beach in about two hours and finally settled down there.
If you want, you can open the parasols provided.
There are no additional charges for umbrellas or sun loungers. You can also leave your belongings there without worry. We periodically left for 20-30 minutes to go on the slides and were not afraid to leave our bags with money and mobile phones behind. There is also an employee on duty at the beach who monitors the safety of visitors.
And rest assured, he keeps a close eye on things, so don’t be afraid to go into the water. Although, thanks to the location of the beach, this part of the Persian Gulf has no waves. This means that the water is warmer and cleaner.
For those who like to be active but have had enough of the slides (this is especially true for hotel guests), there are volleyball and football pitches on the beach. Young people play to their heart’s content. As I understand it, balls are provided here.
People come in waves. Closer to lunchtime, most go to the beach, while others, having rested, rush back to the slides. But I didn’t see any crowds, as is often the case on summer beaches.
By the way, considering that the water in the Persian Gulf is very salty, you want to take a shower after swimming (actually, after the water dries in the sun, you have to literally shake off the salt). The water park has this in mind. There are several open showers on the territory where you can rinse off or just wash your feet.
But that’s not all. The best thing is that there are racks near the towers where you can leave your glasses, shoes and other things. So, if you want to take a walk during your break and then go straight back to the slides, you don’t have to go back to your sun lounger to leave your things. On the way back, we leisurely made our way to the exit through Atlantis. After browsing the shop windows, we saw the machine for making commemorative oval coins again.
And, of course, such a chic place couldn’t do without Christmas decorations. We saw several Christmas trees, each one different from the others.
Overall, the water park made the best impression. Time flew by unnoticed and, most importantly, we weren’t tired at all. I can say with confidence that it was the best day of my holiday!
